Learning to Live
by TheDeepestDepths
Summary: Desperate to escape the horror and devastation that was the aftermath of the war, Hermione picked up and moved to a small town in South-West Virginia. Little did she know that she was not the only newcomer in town...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or Harry Potter. All the copyrights associated with both fandoms belong to their rightful owner. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story.**

**AN: This sort of story is so far out of my depth as an author that I wonder why I'm even bothering to post it. I've never written anything to do with any of the characters that will feature and everyone knows that Crossovers are unwieldy things at the best of times. Nevertheless, I found I couldn't concentrate on anything until I had written this down. By the way, The Wrongs of the Past has been extremely neglected, I know, but the purge a while back killed to urge to write anymore for fear of it being deleted. Now that everything has settled down, my muse should come back (hopefully).**

* * *

"So you're really going, then?" Harry asked, worry clearly seen in his eyes. "I had hoped ... after you said no more about it that you'd decided not to, in the end."

Hermione sighed and reached forward to place a hand on his knee. The two of them we sitting in the drawing-room at Grimmauld Place. They had spent the day systematically going through the rooms with a few Healers from St. Mungo's to see if the house could be converted into a long-term home for the patients in the spell damage ward. St. Mungo's didn't have the space for all the long-term patients after the war. Harry was going to give the house to the Healers and rename it the Phoenix Hospice.

He shook his head and smiled faintly, "It'll just be strange not having you to rely on for answers when Ron and I bollocks something up."

Six weeks had passed since the battle and Hermione had finally made up her mind about what she wanted to do after the summer. Most people expected her to go back to Hogwarts and finish her schooling there, but a month after the Final Battle Hermione had realised she needed a break. Not from magic or the wizarding world or anything so drastic as that, but she needed to get away from the aftermath of the war. She felt trapped, suffocated, here in Britain where random strangers recognised her on the streets, streets which were covered in flowers marking the spot where someone's loved one had died. She needed space to breathe, to get distance and perspective on the previous few years.

When Hermione had mentioned to Kingsley how unhappy she was in Britain, he had arranged for her to spend a year abroad in Muggle America, working as a receptionist. Kingsley justified using Ministry contacts to sort out her accommodation and expenses by using her research as an excuse. Hermione had, indeed, been delving into various different magics and theories in an attempt to distract herself from everything that has happening around her. Everything was now in place, she would take her NEWTs over the summer, with permission granted by Minister Shacklebolt, and come the end of August she will have disappeared into the vast anonymity of South-west Virginia.

Hermione smiled at her best friend. "Try not to think of it as me having to get away from here, but as me taking a very good opportunity to see and experience some completely different aspects of magic than we've come across, and all expenses paid by the Ministry!" The girl drew in a deep shuddering breath, getting genuinely excited about her trip now she had decided she was actually going. Indeed, she had still had doubts before she had talked to Harry, unable to be sure that he would not need her to stay. "Mystic Falls is the perfect place for such a trip! Supernatural activity has been consistently recorded in that area for centuries. It's a hotspot! Living on a hotspot for a whole year will be invaluable to my research that hotspots in different geographical locations attract different sorts of supernatural!"

Harry laughed as Hermione's enthusiasm for her project lent her breathless. "Well, I suppose you have to go now! Or you'll spend the rest of your life itching for this one opportunity that you'll have passed up in favour of making sure Auror training doesn't kill me and George doesn't accidentally blow Ron up at the shop." The smile on his face faded slightly and he continued in a more serious tone. "Speaking of Ron, have you told-"

"Ron and I have talked this out long and hard, Harry. Despite everything that happened in the middle of the battle the timing is not right for a relationship between us now. He agrees that I need to find some way to recover and after Fred-" Hermione's voice caught, "and after everything he needs his friends not a new relationship."

"I'm glad." When Hermione looked up at him surprised he rushed to continue. "I mean I'm glad you've decided to put a relationship on hold until the world has sorted itself out a bit more. I think ... I think the war, and our proximity to it, influenced your romantic feelings a lot, both of yours. I'm not saying you don't love each other, a blind fool could see that, but it's my opinion that you need a little distance from each other and the past few years to sort out the strength and type of that love."

Harry stopped to see Hermione looking at him strangely, and raised an eyebrow in question. She simply kissed him on the cheek and walked away, shaking her head in bemusement. As Harry watched her go he thought he heard the words "fifth year" and "relationship advice".

* * *

"I'm sure you're all terribly disappointed," Hermione said, grinning, "because, despite everything you've done to it, my new house is going to be just fine." The group of exhausted workers lying around her sitting room laughed but she was right, all her equipment was now safely on the other side of the Atlantic. There had been several crises along the way, of course. Terry Boot had dropped a box of ancient, priceless books that Hermione had liberated from the Black library in Grimmauld Place before coming - with Harry's permission. Then, there was the fact that one of the other movers had apparated outside the wrong house with some of her equipment. Luckily, the house was quite secluded and none of the residents inside had noticed, so a team of Obliviators wasn't necessary. But all in all nothing too disastrous had happened.

Kingsley had arranged for a group of Ministry workers to help her with the move, citing it as official Ministry business that all her data and equipment arrived safely. Hermione was vaguely worried that he was stretching the limits of his powers a little too much especially so early in his career, but she nevertheless grateful for the manpower. She would never have been able to move all this by herself and permits were needed for every civilian flooing or apparating across the Atlantic. Besides, she had gotten on well with the team who had helped her with her equipment over the past couple of days.

"I assume that ninety percent of these boxes are filled with books and the rest with various equipment. So tell me, did you even remember to pack clothes?" asked Katie Sparrow, a trainee Obliviator with a somewhat sharp tongue. Every now and then she brought a lump to Hermione's throat because she knows that Fred would have liked her.

"Eh, even if I didn't, Kingsley has given me enough of a starting sum for my research, I'm sure I won't have to parade through that streets of my new town naked."

"And won't they find that a damn shame?" Hermione grinned at the blonde and went to make the tired group tea. Although it was mostly an excuse to use her kitchen for the very first time.

* * *

"Can I help you in any way?" A voice startled Hermione from her thoughts. She looked around to a pretty woman with brown hair who was surveying her closely with a concerned expression on her face.

"Oh, no, thank you. I'm sorry, I'm not ill or anything, I just wanted to have a look around. I start work her next week, as the new receptionist," Hermione said, rather flustered at having been caught standing around in the hospital lobby. She had wanted to make sure she knew where the hospital was and how long it would take her to get there on foot well in advance of starting work.

"Oh," the woman looked taken aback for a minute and Hermione flushed, wondering if she really seemed so out-of-it. "It's nice to meet you then. My name's Meredith Fell. I hadn't realised you were English. How long have you been in Mystic Falls?"

Meredith gave her a tour around the hospital while doing her rounds and introduced her to the staff who were not in the middle of a task. Eventually Hermione checked her watch and made her excuses to Meredith saying that she needed to leave and do some grocery shopping before it got too late. She also needed to check out the town's library because she wouldn't have time to do it tomorrow with all the unpacking to be done.

Hermione sucked in a breath of fresh air as she left the hospital and resolved herself to either buying herself a car and learning to drive or buying a pair shoes more suited to walking. She was wearing a pair of cream pumps that went particularly well with her blue dress which had a vintage lace trim. However, as adorable as the shoes are, they're not the most practical of footwear for exploring a new town.

As Hermione wandered down the main street of Mystic Falls she wondered if she should perhaps buy herself a computer. Unlike most other Muggle-born, Hermione had kept abreast of the technological advances made the Muggles while she was in Hogwarts. She missed out in the past year or so while on the run and distracted by the war by she at least knew her way around a computer. And she hated to admit it to herself but a computer would be far more efficient to her research than notes on parchment. A computer could give her so much more than her own brain in this case, it could do all the necessary calculations in an instant and hold volumes worth of data without taking up precious space on her bookshelves. Bookshelves which she will already have to go to the effort of glamouring to prevent the Muggles who come to visit from picking up a book on Advanced Arithmancy or Theoretical Thaumaturgy. Hermione also had an ulterior motive to buying a computer; she was very concerned about her typing speed and did not want to embarrass herself at work. A receptionist who could only pound out a couple of words a minute is not the most useful of employees. With a computer, she should be able to figure out a spell to help her find her way around the keyboard. Failing that, she would at least get some practice in before starting her job next week.

Looking up at the burnished orange sky, Hermione resigned herself to the fact that buying a computer would have to wait until she had more time on her hands and proceeded to the supermarket closest to her house to finally buy those groceries she so desperately needed.

* * *

Mystic Grill seemed to be the only worthwhile bar in the whole of Mystic Falls and as she glanced around she could see why the building was so popular, especially with the younger people in the town. It was an old fashioned sort of place with dark lacquered wood and stone walls. The heavy beams gave the painted ceiling the appearance of being low-hanging. The soft lights just added to the effect.

Hermione had just drained her first glass when a voice behind her said, "Well, now that your drink is empty I don't suppose you'd give me the chance to refill it for you?"

Hermione turned to see a dark-haired blue-eyed man seat himself on the stool next to hers. She blinked at him and then her lips curved into a cheeky and slightly mischievous smile. "I'll let you buy me the drink if you get it right."

The man's eyebrows had shot up at her words and he grinned at the challenge. "Well, with that sexy accent of yours I'd be extremely disappointed to get it wrong. However, I'll give it my best shot." Hermione turned on her stool to face him properly and waited. "Something fairly light, a cocktail of some kind but nothing overly sweet. Vodka? ... No, that's too common. You would have something a little different, elegant, so I'm sensing ... gin. A plain gin and tonic with a slice of lemon. Simple, yet sophisticated."

Hermione stared at him in bewilderment and then shook her head in disbelief. "How on earth did you guess that? That's just uncanny."  
The raven-haired man looked smug, "If a pretty woman sitting alone at the bar is in desperate need of a drink, it'd be a shame if she got the wrong one. Anyway, I believe I've earned the right to buying you a drink. The name's Damon Salvatore, by the way." He gestured to the bartender.

"Hermione Granger."

"So, Hermione Granger, what is a sexy, gin-drinking British girl doing in Mystic Falls' only worthwhile bar?"

"I moved into town today actually. I decided to put off unpacking until tomorrow and to acquaint myself with the place today. From what I could tell at a glance, The Mystic Grill was the only place to get any sort of alcohol. And I was in the mood for a celebratory, moving drink."

Damon looked extremely surprised, "You live alone? What age are you?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at his bluntness, "I'm almost nineteen. I got a job working as a receptionist at the hospital. I start there next week."

"So, you finish school and your first job is over six thousand kilometers away? Why the distance?"

"Because there was distance," Hermione said with a somewhat bitter smile and gestured to the bartender for another drink. "What about you have you lived here long?"

"Not recently, I moved away when I was a lot younger. I'm just back visiting my little brother while he starts junior year in high school."

"That's good of you. It must be nice for him to see you?"

"Well, truthfully, he hasn't seen me yet. Last time we saw each other we didn't part on very good terms so he might not be overly pleased by my reappearance in town. But I'm planning to surprise him tomorrow." Damon smirked here, as though he was enjoying some private joke.

After her fourth gin and tonic Hermione was starting to feel very warm and comfortable. She could practically feel her inhibitions unraveling as the night wore on and decided that it was time to call it a night before she did something she would definitely regret in the morning. Hermione stood and grabbed the bar to steady herself as all the alcohol went to her head. "Well, Damon Salvatore, I'm going to thank-you for a great time and for buying most of my drinks for me. It was really wonderful to meet you, but now I think I really should go home."

Damon stood and gave her a charming smile, "I'm not quite ready for this night to end. Let me walk you home ... at least some of the way," he cajoled, but she was firm.

"No, I really can't. I have a house full of unpacking that needs to be done tomorrow as well as a heap of other things. I'll see you here again sometime and I'll stay longer. When I don't have an unholy amount of things to do the next day."

At that Damon capitulated, looking surprised that he had done so, and took her hand kissing it goodbye, "I look forward to it."

Even in Hermione's inebriated state she thought that sounded more like a promise than a simple expression.

* * *

**Review, please!**


	2. Chapter 2

******Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or Harry Potter. All the copyrights associated with both fandoms belong to their rightful owner. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story.**

**AN: Wow, this chapter flowed like concrete and I'm unhappy with almost everything about it, but it's been too long so I'm posting now, goddammit! Ah, I guess I underestimated how hard crossovers were, but never fear! I will soldier on. Reviews which tell me how I can improve will earn a special place in my heart. This is a story I need feedback on, if there ever was one.**

* * *

Hermione sighed to herself in relief. The rest of the week had passed quickly and unpacking and redecorating had taken up a lot more of her time than she had anticipated. She was to start work that night with the night shift and had only put the finishing touches on her house today, even with magic to hurry the process along. It had been an exhausting week, but at least she had an up-and-running house now. She was most pleased with her study, it was one of the biggest rooms in the house, only coming after her kitchen and bedroom. She had covered the walls in mahogany bookshelves, but the wide windows running along one wall prevented it from looking too dark. Her desk was massive, big enough to hold all the books she usually has around her while working. Hermione remembered doing her homework at Hogwarts clearly, especially in third year, where she would have to push a few tables in the common room together so that she could spread her homework out.

Looking out the window, Hermione realised it wasn't as late as she thought it was. Smiling to herself, she went upstairs to change into something more suitable for the bar. She had been wearing an old, knitted jumper and tatty jeans for the redecorating. They were barely suitable for inside the house let alone out in public.

Once she was ready she headed out into the last of the sunshine. The sky was already tinted red and a cool breeze stirred her hair. Hermione smiled and headed to the Grill, she was going to have to make friends in this town and she wasn't going to do that by staying at home all the time. Now that all her things were put away and her equipment safely stored she had no excuse for anti-social behaviour.

Upon entering, Hermione grinned as she recognised the leather-clad back of a man sitting at the bar.

"I was hoping I'd see you here again." She smiled as he looked up surprised. She took a seat next to him. "I wanted to thank you for last time."

He smirked at her. "A man doesn't need to be thanked for keeping a beautiful woman company."

"Perhaps not, but you made sure I wasn't alone my first night in a new town, not to mention a new country. You made me feel welcome. Anyway, it wasn't just that I wanted to thank you that I hoped you'd be here."

"Oh?"

"Yes, tonight's my turn to buy the drinks."

Damon laughed as she signaled the bartender. "So have you finished moving into your house yet? You were just about to start last week, weren't you?"

Hermione made a small noise of protest. "Let's not talk about my house, I've just moved in and already I'm beginning to hate it." At Damon's raised eyebrows she elaborated, "I've just spent so much time decorating and shoving furniture around over the past week that now I just want to burn it down and be done with it."

"I can sympathise, my brother and I have moved often enough over the years to become intimately familiar with the process."

"Oh yeah, you came here to talk to him. How did that go?"

"Actually, I haven't talked to him yet. He's not going to be pleased that I'm here, you see. But tonight's the night, I just have to get the initial, ugly confrontation over with."

Hermione smiled at him. "I know the feeling. I made a decision a year ago; one my parents disagreed with. I told them what I did and they haven't spoken to me since. Anyway, where were you before you came here?"

"Oh, around and about. I never really staying in on place long enough to make an impression. How about you?"

"Same as you I suppose." Realising her voice held more than a hint of bitterness, she straightened and smiled at him warmly. "So I don't suppose I could buy you another drink before I head off to work?"

Damon checked his watch. "Actually, I have somewhere to be very soon. Where do you work?"

"Oh, I have my first shift at the hospital in about an hour."

"You're only eighteen. That's a little young to be in the medical field, isn't it?"

"I'm taking over for their receptionist while she's on maternity leave. Anyway, I really have to go. It was lovely seeing you again, Damon."

"Likewise, Hermione" Her stomach clenched slightly at the sound of her name on his lips. Smiling, she left the bar.

* * *

Hermione seated herself behind the desk after saying goodbye to the last receptionist. The hospital is open all night so all the staff, including receptionists work in shifts.

"Hey, it's Hermione right?"

Hermione looked up in surprise at the voice. "Hello, you're Meredith, you showed me around a week ago, didn't you?"

"Yeah, this is your first shift, isn't it? I feel I should say good luck; in any other town you'd be lucky to get the late shift. There's usually fewer calls and accidents at night, but not in Mystic Falls."

"Yeah, I was quite surprised that such a small town had a hospital at all, there's a huge amount of injuries for the number of people here. I suppose the town's just unlucky." Hermione did her best to sound distantly curious, but really, she was probing. It would surprise her at all if there was a perfectly valid reason for the number of patients. A perfectly valid reason such as a thriving supernatural life.

"Yeah, Mystic Falls is just strange like that. I'll let you get on with your new job then," she said, smiling as the phone began to ring.

Hermione grinned at the pretty brunette and picked up the phone.

Hours later, Hermione had gotten into the rhythm of her new job and was perfectly comfortable answering phones, sending emails and making appointments. Her routine was broken when she got a 911 call from a student who was at a party in the woods. Heart beating faster than normal, Hermione sent an ambulance to the area and waited on tenterhooks for it to arrive back with the girl who had been bitten. She had seen far too much death in the past three years for people to start dying during her first shift at a new job in a new town.

The noise of the ambulance's siren alerted Hermione to the arrival of the injured teenager. She caught a good look at the teenager with light brown hair and a pretty face covered in blood before the doctor's rushed her into a room. Hermione had a quiet shift after that and had little else to do but keep a watchful gaze on the girl's room, waiting for Meredith to come out so that she could ask her if the girl was going to be okay.

Just after her shift ended and Hermione was about to go home, Meredith and the other doctor came out of the girl's room.

"Meredith, how is she? I was the one to take the call and send the ambulance. She looked terrible, is she going to be alright?"

Hermione's concern for the injured girl had rendered her babbling and almost incoherent.

"Hermione, Hermione, relax. She's going to be fine. She's lucky though, whatever animal bit her took a massive chuck out of her neck. But we've stitched her up and after a day or two she should be able to go home."

"Oh, thank God," Hermione said fervently.

Meredith gave her a strange look and asked her quietly, "Why are you so worried about her? Do you know her?"

"No, I don't know her. It's just ... I've been around so much death lately and she's still so young." Hermione trailed off helplessly. How could she explain to this complete stranger about the war, her parents, and the year she spent on the run terrified every moment would be her last?

Meredith looked torn, as though she wanted to tell Hermione something secret. "Hermione, working in a hospital, it's hard. Sometimes people don't make it and if you let them, each death will wear on you. It's very important to harden yourself to illness and accidents and death, or they'll take you over."

The witch nodded morosely, "It's not going to happen again, she just reminded me of someone I once knew." And the mysterious girl did. With her clouds of light brown hair, she reminded Hermione of herself. Just a little, but also not at all. The girl's face, softened in unconsciousness, looked younger than Hermione could ever remember being. "I'm just being silly, I suppose. I should probably go home and sleep. For a first day at a new job, it was far more exciting than it had any right to be."

Meredith nodded sympathetically, "Yes, you should sleep, you look exhausted. But before you go, I checked the shifts earlier and we're both free tomorrow night. There's going to be a huge gathering in the square to watch this comet pass overhead. How about we go for a drink in the Grill?"

Hermione smiled and nodded to her before exiting out the front door to the hospital.

It was only when Hermione unlocked her front door did the question occur to her. The question she should have asked back in the hospital.

What sort of animal attacks someone by biting their neck, but doesn't injure any other part of their body. What animal leaves their prey behind? The answer came to her immediately in the late night gloom of her new home.

_Vampire._

* * *

**Review, please.**


	3. Chapter 3

**********Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or Harry Potter. All the copyrights associated with both fandoms belong to their rightful owner. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story.**

**AN: I'm much happier with this chapter than the last. But I'm a little concerned with the pacing, is the story moving too slowly (getting boring)? Too much detail? Too less? If you find any typos, or spelling and grammar mistakes let me know and I'll fix them.**

* * *

Hermione stood in the darkened hall of her new house with her heart pounding. Was this it? She remembered Quirrell's lecture on vampires back in her first year at Hogwarts.

"_Vampires are among the darkest of creatures to walk the earth. So dark, in fact, that they cannot bear the touch of the sun. Vampires by their inherent nature are foul monsters. They steal the life of other purer beings to sustain their own - Yes, Mr. Finnigan?"_

_The sandy-haired Irish boy had been waving his hand in the air. "Professor, what do you mean they 'steal life'? They just drink blood, don't they? They don't actually have to kill the person."_

"_Blood is life, Finnigan. The rush of blood in your veins is what makes you alive. Blood is the most important thing to keep you healthy."_

Although looking back, it was probably just Voldemort talking. Remus' lectures were much more sympathetic to the vampires plight. Perhaps his own condition had coloured his view on the beings as he always stressed that they were not just animals or creatures, they were human once. People who had befallen a terrible fate and were now doomed to stand in the shadow of Wizarding society, forever shunned and unable to feel the warmth of the sun again.

The werewolf didn't just teach them how to fight and kill vampires, either. He taught them the codes that vampires adhered to. Wizards didn't understand the magic or mechanics which allowed for a creature to retain its sense of self after death, and for that they feared them. Vampire hunting was rampant, during the Middle Ages in particular, and the Ministry was forced to create laws which punished the hunting of the creatures. However, vampires now feared magic greatly and created a code among their kind which forbade the attention of any sort of Wizarding authority. Any vampire who came close to breaking the Statute of Secrecy was quickly and quietly dispatched by its own kind before the Ministry was forced to intervene. No wizard had been turned into a vampire in the previous three centuries in fear of retribution.

For a vampire to act so carelessly and rashly as to allow a victim to live, without even disguising the wound, was unheard of. This must be a different breed of vampire, one unknown to her kind and her kind unknown to it. Ice flooded Hermione's veins. There was a vampire loose in the town who wouldn't hesitate to attack her and who she had no idea how to defend against.

In the morning she would head to Mystic Falls Public Library and start her research on the town's history of supernatural phenomena.

* * *

Hermione turned her face up toward the sun, glad she had packed all of her summer wardrobe. The day of the comet was just as warm as it had been the previous week. Out in the town square, surrounded by people, Hermione felt the hot rush of embarrassment as she remembered her brief flash of paranoia the previous night. It was much more difficult to be afraid of vampires in the bright light of day than the lonely gloom of her home.

Grimacing at the thought of her panic, Hermione looked around for a jewellery shop. She spotted a _Tiffany's and Co._ down a side street and made her way to the shop and inside. Hermione very rarely wore jewellery and owned only a few pieces: a silver locket in the shape of a book given to her by Harry and Ron for her sixteenth birthday, a simple sapphire pedant gifted to her in her grandmother's will when she was fourteen and a charm bracelet on which she recorded the most important events and people in her life. The last item was one she never took off, even during their year on the run. The bracelet was there to remind her of everything she was fighting for. During Bellatrix's torture she focused on the cold metal of the charms to keep herself sane. It was the bracelet that shielded her mind. If she thought of anything else her concentration would break and she would hear Ron's screams, feel Harry's desperation, and lose her own mind completely.

Now it was time to add to her collection. With vampires on the loose it would be stupid to leave anything to chance. Hermione didn't know what these vampires were vulnerable to so she wasn't going to leave anything to chance, except the garlic. She despised the smell and taste of garlic and onions more than the vampires did.

Hermione looked around as she entered the shop. It was tiny in size and had a very old fashioned look to it. The dark, battered counter and small panes in the window gave it an antique feel. Hermione felt as though she had stepped into one of the shops in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley.

A distinctly American voice broke the spell. "May I help you with anything?"

"Oh," Startled, Hermione looked around at a grey haired woman who had entered the shop from the back room. "Yes, I'm wondering if you sell plain silver crosses?" Despite her deep-rooted Gryffindor loyalty Hermione had always loved the look of silver far more than she had gold.

The silver specification was due to more than just personal preference though. Silver has been tied with the supernatural and the occult for as long as both have existed. In Hogwarts, Hermione had researched the truth behind most magical myths and the stories about silver proved to be true. It is the best conduit of all energies, including magic. The energies and vibrations of silver are known for reflecting and absorbing negative or dark energies, such as those in vampires, werewolves and all manner of dark creatures.

When the woman came back with a selection of silver crosses, Hermione quickly chose a simple one made of two crossed square bars and bought a link chain to go with it. She wanted to spend as much time in the library as possible before meeting up with Meredith.

The Public Library of Mystic Falls was a modern building, not at all like Hermione's beloved Hogwarts Library, but it held as much a wealth of information if you just looked in the right place. The history section was devoid of any sort of supernatural speculation. Which practically screamed 'censorship' when you took into account what events they were trying to pass off as normal. It was all there: mysterious deaths, strange series of animal attacks, missing medical reports. After combing through the books for several hours, Hermione found that she learned more from what the books didn't say than what they did. Keeping this in mind, she headed toward the supernatural and mythological section.

* * *

After feeling the weight of her bag, filled with the books she had checked out of the library, Hermione had Apparated home to leave them there before Apparating back into town to meet with Meredith.

The town square was packed with people waiting to see the comet and the Grill even more so. Hermione checked her newly bought mobile phone for messages – she was a few minutes late and couldn't see Meredith anywhere. Glancing around, she smiled as she spotted the girl from the hospital with what could only be her brother.

"Hermione, hey!"

Hermione turned around at the sound of the exclamation and smiled in relief as she saw Meredith coming towards her.

"Meredith, thank God. I was wondering how I was going to find you in this chaos."

"I know. It's crazy, isn't it? Let's head to the bar, I'll buy you a drink."

Ignoring her protests, Meredith dragged Hermione over to the bar and signalled the bartender.

"Between you and Damon, the bartender's here are going to start thinking I'm too cheap to buy my own drinks."

Meredith laughed and started to respond before pausing. "Damon?"

"Yes, Damon Salvatore. I met him my first night in town, do you know him?" Hermione's eyes sharpened as she caught something flash across Meredith's face, but was too slow to see what it was.

"The only Salvatore I know of is called Zach. It's a little strange that I didn't know he had any other family." At Hermione's bewildered expression she elaborated, "The Salvatore's are a very old family around here. One of the Founding Families, along with the Lockwoods, the Gilberts and, of course, the Fells. Oh!" Meredith's face lit up as she thought of something. "Would you come with me to the Founder's Party? Please? I really should bring someone and I _really _don't want to go to the effort of bringing a date."

Hermione was bemused at Meredith's sudden change in attitude, "The Founder's Party?"

"Mhm, it's on the 24th. It's a gathering to celebrate the heritage and to display the heirlooms of the Founding Families or something like that. It happens every year at the end of September and because I'm part of the Town Council I am obliged to go."

Hermione hesitated, "I don't know..."

"It will be fun, I promise. Besides, you're new to town. You need some way to meet people and any party thrown for the Founding Families is one of the best ways to do that."

Hermione relented. "Alright, I'll go."

Meredith smiled triumphantly. Hermione was just darkly amused at the thought of _her _being invited to an exclusive party where only certain families were allowed. No matter what, the universe had a way of paying you back ... for good or ill.

* * *

Hermione learned a lot about Meredith while they were talking by the bar, but at the same time the woman seemed surrounded by secrets. Meredith did not seem to have any family aside from her cousin Logan, who she talked about at great length. Or complained about, rather. Logan and Meredith being members of the Founding Families, were part of the Town Council and were forced to spend more time together than Meredith seemed happy with. When Hermione asked what sort of work the Town Council did, Meredith explained that her position on it was mostly just traditional. Meredith had little enough interest in the actions of the Council that she didn't do much and was just kept informed on what they were doing. Meredith evaded her questions on what the Council did to fill all the time they spent on Council activities, though, and Hermione's curiosity was peaked.

Hermione enjoyed Meredith's company a lot. She was quite a serious woman but she had a sharp wit and a dry sense of humour that Hermione found refreshing. After Hermione commentated on it, Meredith laughed. "One thing I've noticed while working in the hospital is that all doctor's have a sense of humour, and more often than not it's a strange one."

The two brunettes had been hanging out by the bar for nearly two hours before Meredith's pager beeped.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione, but I'm going to have to go back to the hospital. I suppose I should have anticipated an accident or something, especially when there's something going on in town. I feel terrible that I dragged you out, only to abandon you."

"Meredith, relax. It's fine. I'm fine. I'll probably head home soon anyway. I'm not really one for late nights." More like she wasn't one for being outside with a mysterious vampire on the loose.

Meredith thanked her and hurried from the bar. Hermione went to drain her glass but stopped as she heard a familiar voice.

"I'm starting to get the impression you're either stalking me or a raging alcoholic."

Hermione smiled and without turning toward the voice responded, "Well, the same could be said for you, you know. Which are you leaning toward?"

"Well, I doubt either of us are alcoholics. I'm too clever and you're too pretty."

"I _am_ pretty," Hermione agreed, grinning.

"So that leaves the other option."

"Oh, but we still have to question which of us is the stalker and which is the innocent victim, doomed by fate."

Hermione had been teasing, but something flashed through Damon's eyes when she said 'innocent victim' that unnerved her. Something akin to temptation. Had it been desire? Or hunger? Whatever it was, it caused her heart to beat a little erratically in her chest. To cover for her shaking hands she sipped from the drink in front of her.

"So, what have you been up to in the day since I've seen you?"

Thankful he changed the subject, Hermione answered him. "Well, I've had work but mostly I've been wandering around town, exploring, seeing the sights. You know, stuff people do when they moved to a town they've never even seen before." Hermione paused, remembering their last conversation. "Well, you would know, wouldn't you?"

Damon smirked and lifted his drink in salute.

The pair turned as they heard a voice address one of them.

"I know you."

It was the girl from the hospital and she was staring at Damon. The dark haired man looked nonplussed but responded, "Well, that's unfortunate."

Hermione laughed slightly but the girl wouldn't take her eyes from him. "I ... I don't know how but. Your face." Hermione felt the stirrings of concern in her stomach and looked closer at the girl. She was fairly pale and her looks were not improved by the bandage fixed to her neck. But what caught Hermione's attention were her eyes. Her pupils to be exact, wide, dilated, black holes. She was high.

The girl blinked and finally seemed to come to her senses. "Excuse me. S-sorry." She walked away. Hermione, already a little worried about her, grew even more concerned as she stumbled and tripped on her way to the bathrooms.

"Damon, I'm going to be back in a moment or two, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, Hermione followed the girl. She didn't want to seem too interfering, but the girl clearly couldn't look after herself at the moment and she had been attacked by the vampire already. Hermione planned on just getting her to her brother and letting him take her home. Hopefully she'd be safe there.

Hermione felt a faint breeze as if something passed by her and then heard a faint shriek come from the ladies. Growing even more alarmed, Hermione pushed open the door and found … nothing. There was no one inside, the stall doors were open. The tap was running, could that be what she heard?

Bewildered and not the least bit spooked, Hermione turned and scanned the Grill for the girl, noticing as she did so that Damon had also vanished.

_What the hell is going on?_

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**Review, please.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or Harry Potter. All the copyrights associated with both fandoms belong to their rightful owner. Only the ideas contained within this story are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by the writer of this story.**

**AN: Here it is, chapter four. It's fairly longer than the others and is also here a lot sooner, so be extra grateful this time. As usual, if you find any spelling or grammar mistakes let me know and I'll fix them.**

* * *

Huffing in frustration, Hermione slammed shut her copy of_ A Theory of Magic: The Mechanics behind the Mysterious, Fourth Edition._ Her own books were proving to be exceptionally unhelpful when it came to her research. She thought longingly of the Hogwarts library. Closing her eyes she could see it, the dark bookshelves - tall enough that you would have to be Grawp's size to reach the highest shelves. The ancient, yellowing pages of the more precious tomes. Rows upon rows of stacks, enough to get lost in for hours. The rope barrier marking the entrance to the Restricted Section. And best of all, a small window seat right at the back where no one ever went. It was her place in Hogwarts. She went there a lot in the early years for peace and quiet, and later, when the war began and people started dying, she went there to fall apart, to cry alone when she could no longer fight the fear and horror. Tears pricked her eyes now as a wave of homesickness washed over her. The library was one of the few places in the castle that was completely untouched by the battle. Madam Pince had locked and warded it shut when Voldemort's voice had echoed through the halls, demanding the death of her best friend. The library would never be a sanctuary to her again. Not after Dumbledore's death and the nights of researching Horcruxes and magic so evil her stomach rolled.

Hermione pushed a stack of books away from her. Proven theory was going to be no help to her. She was dealing with something the Department of Mysteries would usually cover, the deeper aspects of magic that go far beyond just swish and flick. This was magic along the same lines as Lily Potter's sacrifice. Magic that defied all its own laws. Magic which ties in with things such as ley lines, the power of the solstices, souls, blood, emotions. In other words magic as murky, woolly and unpredictable as Divination.

Mouth pursed into a sour pout, Hermione pulled some parchment towards her and began to pen a letter. _Dear Headmistress McGonagall …_

After signing off her letter Hermione wandered up to her bedroom to see if Nyx had returned from her hunt. A fairly small owl with feathers as dark as a raven's wings, she was a gift from Harry as a way to keep in touch while she was in America but also in honour of both Hedwig and her beloved Crookshanks, who had died while they were hunting the Horcruxes. Glancing around the room and noting that Nyx was not there, Hermione left the letter on her bedside table and hoped that Nyx would be back in the morning.

Now that her research had temporally stalled to a halt Hermione's mind wandered back to the previous night. After she had gone to check on the girl from the hospital, only to find her vanished, she had not been able to find Damon either. The disappearances and the faint shriek she was sure she heard coming from the bathroom, had spooked Hermione greatly. The crush of the crowds in town suddenly became threatening, each shadow was hiding a serial killer. Hermione had gone home when she almost drew her wand on an innocent Muggle when she mistook his black hoodie for a Death Eater's hood. Convinced her paranoia and trauma from the war were causing her to hallucinate she had gone home and, after locking up the house, taken a Dreamless Sleep Potion. Hermione's paranoia had frightened her a little, she had thought that being in Mystic Falls, away from the war and it's effects, had eased her fear, numbed the horror a little. She thought her instincts had forgotten what it was like to fall asleep at night, terrified she'd never open her eyes again. Then, in the Grill that night, she'd realised she hadn't forgotten a thing. Wearily, Hermione passed a hand across her face, she had work that night and needed to get ready.

* * *

After re-sorting her papers for the third time Hermione looked at the clock and growled in frustration. It had only been ten minutes since she last looked at it. The bushy-haired witch thought she had never been so bored. _Well, aside from Umbridge's lessons._ Hermione had met Meredith just before her shift and she had told her that the town's High School had a football match on that night. Because of that hype around the match most employees had taken that night off work to watch the game and Hermione, devoid of any sort of conversation, was bored. She looked at the clock again – still an hour left. Merlin, she couldn't wait for her shift to finish.

Hermione looked up suddenly as the door to the hospital burst open. Peering out the doors she could just see what was going on. There was an ambulance outside and they were unloading a body. Hermione saw Meredith with the group of doctor's from the ambulance. Resolving to ask her what had happened when she had a free moment, Hermione picked up the phone as it started to ring.

The man had been called Mr. Tanner. According to Meredith he was the football coach and history teacher at the High School. He had been found in the car-park of the school by Matt Donovan, who incidentally, was the brother of the girl who was attacked by the vampire – Vicki, Meredith had called her.

"Do you know what killed him yet?" Hermione asked, wondering if this was the stray vampire.

"It was an animal attack again. Most likely the same one that attacked all the others."

Hermione paused as what Meredith said registered with her. _All the others._ As far as Hermione knew there had only been one other attack. Was there more that she didn't know about?

The morgue in the hospital was deserted. Between the gloom and the cold, the hair on Hermione's neck rose even higher. She was never the one for breaking and entering and smashing rules to pieces – that was always Harry's scene – but being his friend for seven years meant she was not a complete novice at it. A simple Disillusion Charm shielded her well enough from the sight of people who would question her presence there. She just wanted to check the bodies brought in recently. By the dates on the bodies and the number of them she should be able to determine the vampire's feeding habits and see if they differed much from the vampires she was familiar with. After placing an alarm on the door that would alert her if anyone came in, she scanned the room for where the bodies were kept.

A lump filled her throat and for a moment she fought to breathe – several of the tables were filled with sheets covering the bodies. As quietly as she could, Hermione walked over to the metal trolleys and lifted the sheet from the first body.

* * *

Hermione stared at the parchment in front of her. How could she document this? How could she clinically and coldly write about what she had found out? Hermione hadn't even needed to look at any of the frozen bodies. Everything she had wanted was laid out on those little metal tables. Five bodies. Five bodies all drained of blood, with a single bite to the neck. She didn't know how they were passing this off as an animal attack. Anyone who looked at more than one body would get suspicious. Chances are that was what someone was doing, examining all the bodies brought into the morgue in the past ten days. Six victims. There was no way the vampire needed to feed six times in ten days without being noticed by her kind before. But there was still six victims. So either there was more than one vampire. Or the one vampire in town was killing people, not just as a necessity for survival, but for the fun of it.

She didn't know which was worse.

Pushing the black piece of parchment away from her, she sighed. Mystic Falls was not supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be a peaceful escape from her war-torn home and life. It wasn't supposed to surround her in yet more death. For the first time, she wondering if coming here was a mistake. She could be back in England, helping in the rebuilding efforts, trying to heal both her best friends and herself at the same time or trying to fix her ruined relationship with her parents.

She looked up startled as flew in through the open window of her study. The beautiful black bird fluttered slightly to slow her progress and landed gently on her shoulder. Deciding to leave her findings for another time, she rose and headed towards her bedroom. She needed McGonagall to get her letter and send her the books she had asked for to help with her research.

She could do with a distraction.

No matter what she did the was no getting over the fact that she didn't feel safe in her house. She didn't know if these vampires were subject to the Rule of Invitation. She didn't know how strong they were – whether they would be deterred by a locked door. But what frightened her the most was that she didn't know if her magic would have any effect on them. She had never heard of such a thing before, but she still didn't _know _and these were vampires and not something that her kind had come across before. Vampires already defy magic and nature in a way her people don't understand, what if they could defy her magic? Hermione understood being helpless more than most people ever would. Hermione had felt helplessness under Bellatrix's knife and wand, felt it as she sat by the bodies of people she had cared for, Remus, Tonks and Fred. She had felt a complete and devastating powerlessness as she watched Hagrid carry her best friend's body out of the Forbidden Forest. In that moment, standing amongst her bleeding but not-quite-broken classmates, Hermione had sworn that she would never feel that way again. No-one would ever force her into a position of such vulnerability. Her life and the lives of her loved ones _would_ be protected – no matter the cost.

The sense of empowerment that came whenever she thought of her vow filled her again, expanding inside her chest. If she needed to be protected against vampires she would be – some Hell of high water no-one would ever hurt her again.

A new sense of purpose took the place of the fear that had consumed her at the thought of the dangerous vampires in her new town and she went back down the stairs. What was her panic for? She had defended herself and her boys from Death Eaters and other monsters for months on end. The had never been a problem that she couldn't find an answer to. She was Hermione Granger, best friend to Harry Potter and without her they would have lost the war. She knew enough protective and offensive enchantments to keep herself safe.

Now standing just inside her front door, she raised her vine wand. "_Protego Totalum … Repello Muggletum … Cave Inimicum … Protego Horribilis … Repello Inimicum … Fianti Duri …_"

* * *

The rest of September passed without even a hint of death. It seemed as though the vampire had left town or had gone into hiding. It had clearly tried to cover its tracks. The day after the last death, Mr. Tanner, a mountain lion had been found and blamed for the deaths. Which was completely ridiculous. Anyone who had seen more than one body would be able to tell this was a lie. So if this was a cover-up by the vampire, why were the town's officials falling for it? Unless the officials knew about the existence of vampires.

Hermione sighed to herself in frustration, the same thoughts had been swirling around in her head for the past fortnight and she was getting nowhere new. She put the situation out of her mind. Today was the day of the Founder's Party and Heritage Display and with each passing moment she wished more and more she had refused when Meredith asked her to go.

She scowled at herself in the mirror, gatherings like this were not something she was fond of but she was trying. She was even wearing make-up, for Merlin's sake! She could count the amount of times she had worn make-up on one hand. Why did she even have to wear make-up anyway? Her dress was lovely, even if it was very simple; her hair was tamed and she had a matching pair of heels! Granted, the heels weren't very high, but still! The bushy-haired witch glowered at her meagre stash of cosmetics and wondered if it was enough to fully classify herself as female.

Checking herself in her full length mirror, Hermione decided she was presentable enough for the party. She slipped her wand into her bag and left the house. She was meeting Meredith in front of the Lockwood Mansion.

The Mansion was one of the biggest houses Hermione had seen. It was a little what she imagined the houses of the upper-class Purebloods to look like. Not The Malfoys, she had first hand experience with their Manor, after all. It was a beautiful house with white columns on the front and large windows. The line waiting at the front door was very long and Hermione could see who she supposed was Carol Lockwood greeting guests at the door. Hermione grinned as she spotted Meredith coming towards her. Meredith was looking particularly lovely in a forest green dress.

"Hi, have I said already how glad I am you're coming?"

"Yes, but you'll need to say it several more times to justify how many times I poked myself in the eye with my mascara brush." Perhaps Hermione was still a bit grumpy about that.

"My gratitude is even greater now that know the trouble you went to getting ready. You look fantastic, by the way."

"Thanks, it's the most formal dress I have with me, so I didn't have a lot of choice in terms of clothing. Who else do you think is going to be here?"

"Well, the Founding Families are definitely invited, whether or not they all show up is another matter. So that means the Lockwoods, Fells, Salvatores, Forbes, and the Gilberts of course. The Gilberts might not show up, all that's left of them are two teenagers, their parents drowned in a car accident five months ago. I was the one to receive the bodies at the hospital."

"That's awful." Hermione said, thinking of all the old family names back home that have been wiped out completely, the Blacks especially. Sirius was the last of his name; the Black blood was still around of course, but the name is gone forever. In an effort to distract herself she asked about the other families.

"Well, I thought there was only one Salvatore left and that was Zack, but after you told me of your friend I admit to snooping a little and he has two nephews – Damon and Stefan. So they might be here."

"Damon didn't say anything about it to me, but I haven't seen him in over a fortnight."

"Well, since the Mayor Lockwood and his wife are hosting this years party, their son should be here helping out. The mayor does have a younger brother – he's sort of like the families black sheep though and never really comes home much. I doubt he'll be here. Who else is there? Oh yeah, the Forbes. This was actually quite the scandal – Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes was married but divorced when her husband turned out to be gay. He's off in Georgia now with his boyfriend. They have a daughter Caroline, who might be here. Now I think that's them all."

Hermione just stared at her in complete and utter disbelief. "How on earth do you know all that? I mean I know you're on the Town Council and everything but you said you never paid much attention or effort into what they did."

"I'm a doctor, Hermione. It's amazing what everyone will talk about when the only company they have is the staff and they're confined to a bed for hours on end."

"I suppose that would explain it. You never seemed to me to be the gossiping type."

"Neither do you. How do you know what the gossiping type is like?"

"I lived in the same dorm as the two of them for six years. I learned quickly that I have nothing in common with them and how to spot them early."

Meredith laughed, "You make them sound like a disease."

"An irritation that shows up when you least want it? The analogy is perfect."

Meredith struggled to keep and straight face as they arrived at the top of the line and waited to be invited inside the house by the mayor.

"Meredith Fell, it's so good to see you. Honestly, my wife and I weren't sure you would come. Things have been busy at the hospital lately haven't they?" Hermione stilled as she thought over his words. As the mayor he might have been involved in the vampire cover-up, but if he was, why would he be talking about it to Meredith? Unless Meredith also knew about the vampires. The witch was torn on her feelings about this – if Meredith knew it meant that she could protect herself but it also meant that she had in no way indicated to Hermione that such a danger was running around the town after dark. Granted, there could be myriad of reasons why she was unable to tell her friend about the danger – such as the fact that she didn't know about Hermione's own involvement in the supernatural. Hermione shook herself slightly, she was getting ahead of herself here, Meredith probably didn't even know about the vampires. The witch paid attention to the other two people talking as she as introduced.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Mayor Lockwood. I have to say, you have a beautiful home. It looks as though it's from the Greek Revival era, back in the 19th Century. But that was long after the town was built, no?"

The mayor looked very surprised at her knowledge. "Yes, you are very knowledgeable about our town's history, especially for someone not native to the country. The house was built around 1870, because the Lockwoods came into a lot of land in around 1864 and could afford to expand. But you'll have to talk to my wife about this, she knows a lot more about it all than I do, I'm afraid."

"I'll do that I think. After being invited to a heritage party I felt as though I should know more about the town's history. Anyway, we really should let you get back to greeting your other guests."

Hermione hadn't really lied to the mayor, attending a heritage party would be an excellent reason to learn more about the town. But Hermione learned most about what she had talked about from her research into the town's supernatural history – most especially vampires.

"Well you impressed the mayor, which is a good thing, according to his wife that's something difficult to do."

"Meredith!" Hermione gasped, and swatted her on the arm, laughing.

"Do you mind if I abandon you for a few minutes? I've just seen my cousin Logan and I really should talk to him."

"I could just come with you," Hermione suggested.

"Oh, you don't want to do that; he's a slime ball. He can't have been here more than five minutes and he's already stalking his ex."

"Who's his ex?" Hermione asked, wondering if there was anything Meredith didn't know about the town's elite.

"Jenna Sommers, she's the Gilbert siblings sole guardian and their aunt on their mother's side. He dated her back in high school and after he dumped her she left town."

"Dear God, you know everything about everyone. I'm almost afraid to ask what you know about me."

Meredith smirked, "I'll tell you _that_ later. Now I really need to go talk to my cousin."

Hermione paused, wondering what on earth Meredith could know about her that she hasn't told her. The witch had been very careful when telling the people of Mystic Falls her back story. She didn't want the hassle of dealing with people knowing her past.

"Well, you got abandoned very quickly. I have to say I didn't expect to find you here. Gatherings like this didn't seem like something you'd enjoy."

Hermione smiled as she recognised the voice. Smooth and confident – almost arrogant – and with a hint of flirtatiousness.

She turned to smile at the raven-haired man. "Well, you're right _but_ I could say the same thing about you. What have you been up to? The last time I saw you was the night of the comet, I went to the bathroom and when I came back you were gone."

"Sorry, there was some family business that came up. I had no choice to take care of it, although, of course, I would have much preferred to spend the night with you."

Hermione just rolled her eyes at his flirting, "Are you here with anyone? As a Salvatore you would have been invited, wouldn't you?"

"Well, I wasn't invited by the Lockwoods, I was a little too new to town for that but my girlfriend, Caroline, invited me to be her date."

Hermione blinked and then blinked again. "You have a girlfriend?" She wasn't upset or disappointed. At least, she didn't think so. She hadn't come to Mystic Falls to date, and she certainly wasn't dating material, what with the trauma and the nightmares and her persistent paranoia. Not to mention to secrets. She was just … confused. With the flirting and drinking alone at the bar she had just assumed he was single. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, it's a fairly recent thing, happened since I last saw you."

Hermione, still feeling a little thrown by the fact he has a girlfriend, decided she needed a distraction, "Well anyway, since we seem to have both been abandoned by our dates temporarily, and you are from the town, how about you introduce me to everyone here."

Hermione may have imagined it but she swore she felt Damon stiffen a little, "When I told you that I was from here but moved, I meant I moved very long ago, these people are mostly strangers to me."

"So introduce me to the people you do know. I'm here with a friend from work who seems to think I'm anti-social and in desperate need of friends. I have to say though, after finding out how much she knows about the people in this town, I'm glad I agreed to come before she went looking for blackmail material."

"Ah! What sort of secrets would someone as proper and British as you have hidden in your closet?"

"Oh, you know, standard stuff, bank robbery, government infiltration, identity theft." Hermione said airily. Damon laughed and took her by the arm, not knowing or even guessing that all she said was true.

Damon led her over to the historical artefact section. She looked at it all in fascination, there were watches, rings, compasses. She paused to look at an old fashioned clock but looked up as Damon pulled her gently along the row. She saw that they were heading toward a little group of people standing in front of a old piece of parchment. A pretty blonde, a slender brunette and an athletic looking teenage boy.

"Damon! There you are; I was looking for you!"

"Caroline, I was being sociable and talking to the other guests." So the blonde one was Damon's girlfriend.

"Alright, you're back now. Who're you, anyway?" she asked looking at Hermione.

"Hermione Granger, I'm a friend of Damon's." Hermione said holding out her hand. She found herself reluctantly liking Caroline's bluntness – it bordered on rude and reminded her a little of Luna. Although the two girls could not be less alike. Caroline was very well turned out, in a pretty blue dress with a white lace cardigan. Her hair and make-up were pristine. At a party like this Luna would have been dressed in something completely ridiculous and may have even decided brushing her hair was bad luck and would attract Nargles, but both she and Caroline possessed a forthrightness that Hermione found refreshing and unexpected in a party which could have been hosted by the Malfoys, with all their Slytherin-like double meanings.

"Ah yes, Hermione this is my brother Stefan and his girlfriend, Elena."

Hermione held out her hand to the both of them as well. She raised her eyebrows at Stefan, he was looking at her oddly. "You don't really favour each other much, do you?"

Damon smirked, "It's our family curse. I got the looks and he got the … well, I got the looks."

"Looks like you got the arrogance and pig-headedness along with them." Elena shot back.

"Ouch, I'm hurt. Although, it's not arrogance if you have a reason for it."

The girl huffed and turned her back to look at the display again. "Look, it's the original guest registry. Look at all these familiar names Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood … is that Damon Salvatore? And Stefan Salvatore?" She looked around bewildered at her boyfriend but it was Damon who answered her.

"The original Salvatore brother; our ancestors. Tragic story that."

"A little cruel of your parents, don't you think? Naming you both after a tragedy." Hermione said, amused.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past, Damon." Stefan interjected, looking a little strained.

"It's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to hear more about your family."

"Yes, and I know Hermione is very fond of history."

Hermione looked at Damon surprised, "I never told you that."

"No, but I heard you talking to the mayor."

Hermione snorted gently, "Why didn't I guess. Well, as much as I would love to listen to the story I probably should look for my friend. I'll talk to you later, Damon?"

"Count on it."

Hermione smiled at him and nodded to the others. Walking away she wondered where Meredith might be. It was a lovely night so she could have gone outside or she might still be dealing with her cousin which was back in the entrance hall of the house. Deciding to head in that direction, she turned and wandered through the door before something came over her. A shiver that ran up her spine and her scalp prickled. Something she hadn't felt since she left Britain.

Someone else was using magic.

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**Review, please!**


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